Greg Morris Movies

While attempting to break into a Middle Eastern chemical plant, the better to destory a computer which is manufacturing poison gas, Barney is captured and put out of commission. The successful completion of Barney's mission now rests in the hands of computer expert Dr. Jerry Carlin (Christopher Connelly). Unfortunately, Carlin has become disillusioned with the United States and wants no part of the IMF. Future MASH costar Larry Linville makes his third Mission:Impossible guest appearance, again playing a villain. First aired on October 3, 1970, "The Innocent" was scripted by Marc Norman and Laurence Heath, from a story by Norman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fans of Mission: Impossible greeted the start of the series' fourth season with fear and trepidation. To be sure, the series was still second to none in serving up exciting action sequences and labyrinthine counterespionage plotlines. And, yes, most of the familiar cast members were still in attendance, including Peter Graves as IMF leader Jim Phelps, Greg Morris as electronics expert Barney Collier, and Peter Lupus as "house athlete" Willie Armitage. But how, asked the fans, would the series be able to survive the defection of its two most popular regulars, Barbara Bain and Martin Landau? In the case of Landau, the series' producers wasted no time in finding a suitable substitute. Replacing Landau's character of Rollin Hand, a professional actor who skill with disguises and dialects made him indispensable during the IMF's many "infiltration" assignments, the producers came up with professional magician "The Great Paris," who shared Rollin's expertise at makeup and vocal dexterity and could fulfill the same function on the IMF team. Better still, Paris was played by Leonard Nimoy, an actor whose popularity was at its peak by virtue of his recent three-year stint as Mr. Spock on Star Trek. Although Paris could easily have been a Rollin Hand clone with a lesser performer, the brilliant Nimoy came up with a characterization -- and a variety of false identities -- uniquely his own, and would continue doing so until he himself left the series at the end of season five. Unfortunately, the producers were never able to come up with an entirely successful replacement for Barbara Bain; indeed, no fewer than four actresses would be tried out as the "new" Cinnamon (albeit under different character names) for the remainder of the series' run. Although not officially a regular during season four, the talented Lee Meriwether would show up from time to time as "Tracey," a lovely if nondescript Cinnamon substitute. Despite the cast shakeups, Mission: Impossible continued to turn out first-rate episodes during its fourth year on the air, notably the two-part "The Controllers," and the series' only three-parter, "The Falcon," arguably the best-ever showcase for series newcomers Nimoy and Meriwether. Unfortunately, the loss of Landau and Bain proved highly detrimental to the show's ratings: after an all-time-high during season three, the show didn't even crack the Top 30 during season four. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With nothing to lose, terminally ill American agent Anton Malik (Morgan Sterne) has planted an detonation device in a nuclear reactor. It is up to the IMF to convince the embittered Malik to remove the device. Their strategy involves a dangerous waiting game which may result in the deaths of all concerned. Barbara Luna, who played the title role in the first-season Mission:Impossible episode "Elena," is here cast as IMF agent Wai Lee. Written by Paul Playdon, "Time Bomb" was originally telecast on December 14, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In his third Mission:Impossible guest appearance, Nehemiah Persoff is cast as Igor Stravos, finance minister of the Federated Peoples' Republic. As part of a plan to take over the Kingdom of Bahkan, Stravos has flooded the friendly country with counterfeit money. In order to prevent Bahkan's financial collapse, the IMF must destroy the phony currency, the printing plates, and Stravos himself. The first step in the IMF's counterstrike is Phelps' impersonation of a European baron and Paris' pose as a libidinous counterfeiter. Also appearing is Sally Ann Howes as IMF agent Beth, who pretends to be Phelps' baroness wife. First broadcast October 26, 1969, "Fool's Gold" was written by Ken Pettus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first multipart Mission: Impossible adventure of the 1969-70 season, "The Controllers" was written by Laurence Hearth. A mind-controlling drug known as B-230 has been developed by enemy scientist Dr. Karl Turek (David Sheiner). To prevent Turek from turning the populaiton of the Free World into mindless zombies, IMF agents Phelps and Meredyth (Dina Merrill) impersonate two disloyal American scientists who had been scheduled to work on perfecting the drug. Part One of "The Controllers" first aired October 12, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gregor Kamirov (Malachi Throne) has hired a double to pose as deceased East European premier Pavel Zagov. Having concealed Zagov's death from the public, Kamirov hopes to use the phony premier to install himself as dictator. In order to foil Kamirov's plans, Phelps must substitute a robot for the fraudulent Zagov. In the course of the action, Phelps impersonates a nightclub entertainer, while Paris adopts a dizzying array of master disguises. The supporting cast includes Lee Meriwether in her third appearance as IMF agent Tracey, and future MASH costar Larry Linville as Alexi Silensky. First telecast on November 23, 1969, "The Robot" was written by Howard Berk. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The technical wizardry of the IMF is given a real workout in "The Double Circle." Anne Francis guest stars as IMF agent Gillian Colbee, who poses as the owner of a valuable antique. Gillian's impersonation is part of a master plan to recover a stolen rocket fuel formula from mercurial art collector Victor Laszlo (James Patterson). Other vital ingredients to the success of the plan include the precise re-creation of Laszlo's apartment, and a delicate electronic rigging on the villain's private elevator. First seen on November 9, 1969, "The Double Circle" was written by Jerry Ludwig. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Guest star Joan Collins plays the title character in this offbeat Mission: Impossible episode. While on a particularly delicate recovery mission, Phelps is shot, wounded and left for dead. Upon awakening, he finds that he has been nursed back to health by the beautiful Nicole. Despite being trained to trust no one, Phelps begins to fall in love with Nicole--while she pumps him for information on behalf of her boss, enemy intelligence officer Anton Valdas (Logan Ramsey). Written by Stuart Hagmann, "Nicole" first aired on March 30, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second half of the two-part Mission: Impossible adventure "The Bunker", the IMF team continue their efforts to rescue rocket scientist Erich Rojak (Milton Selzer) and his wife Anna (Lee Meriwether from the Enemy. Complicating matter is the fact that Rojak is being held in bunker some 300 feet beneath the ground, and the presence of Alexander Ventlos (Ray Baxter) a master of disuguise, who is determined to assassinate Rojak. One lengthy sequence finds Cinammon Carter impersonate Anna Rojak--a somewhat ironic plot device, in that actress Barbara Bain (Cinammon) would later be replaced on the series by Lee Meriwether. Written by Paul Playdon, Part Two of "The Bunker" was first broadcast on March 9, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Leonard Nimoy joins the Mission:Impossible cast as The Great Paris, master of disguise and jack of all trades, in the series' fourth-season opener, "The Code." The IMF heads to the Latin American democracy of San Cristobal, presently in danger of invasion by dictator Vincente Bravo (Harold Gould). While Phelps and Barney attempt to decipher a vital code message, Paris, posing as a famous guerilla leader, hijacks an airplane. Alexandra Hay also appears as Lynn, an IMF agent who has been planted on the "endangered" plane. Written by Ken Pettus, "The Code" first aired on September 28, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The IMF's mission is to smash the unholy alliance between East European officials Skarbeck (Fritz Weaver) and Lom (Kevin Hagen) and enable a pro-US candidate to win an important government post. The plan requires Cinammon to pose as a recently deceased cabaret entertainer, with Rollin impersonating her Joel Grey-like partner. The episode's highlights include her impression of Marlene Dietrich, and her rendition of three songs: "Buy My Glass of Wine", "10 Tiny Toes" and "The Lady 'Bove the Bar". The lyrics were written by series producer Bruce Geller, while two of the songs were composed by Mission: Impossible musical director Lalo Shifrin. Scripted by Laurence Heath, "Illusion" first aired on April 13, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Steve Ihnat guest-stars as eponymous master spy Stefan Miklos in this psychologically complex Mission: Impossible episode. Discovered to be a double agent, Walter Townsend (Jason Evers) is fed false information by the Americans. In order to throw Miklos off the track, the IMF must convince him that Townsend's information is genuine. Once again, Rollin dons elaborate makeup and a thick accent to pose as the central villain--and once again, Barney and Willy pose as workers from the ubiquitious "Kompani die Gaz." Edward Asner also appears in this episode, as a man named Simpson. First telecast January 12, 1969, "The Mind of Stefan Miklos" was written by Paul Playdon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

To get the evidence necessary to destroy mob kingpin Constantine Victor (Val Avery), the IMF preys upon Johnny Costa (James Patterson), Victor's most trusted henchmen. Knowing that Costa would never rat out his boss under normal circumstances, the IMF agents stage a complex scam to convince Costa that he is being framed for Victor's own financial double-dipping. Highlighting this episode is the use of a newly developed miniature "Snorkel" TV camera, long before this equipment became commonplace. First seen on January 26, 1969, "The System" was written by Robert Hamner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide